The Game
by hannah-ashley
Summary: In 1996, a group of teenagers begin a new year at Hogwarts. What starts as typical teenage drama quickly unfolds into something far more serious. Set in a time when pureblood fanaticism was especially present, The Game follows the stories of a group of friends during adolescence and adulthood. (More detailed summary inside.)
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

In 1996, a group of teenagers begin a new year at Hogwarts.

Haley and Alyson are an unlikely pair of friends. Haley is a pureblood Slytherin, and Alyson is a Muggle-born Gryffindor. After a series of breakups, Haley starts to date Adam, who is a staunch supporter of You-Know-Who, while Alyson and known pureblood elitist Dustin unexpectedly begin seeing each other. These relationships cause more joy and heartache than anyone would have anticipated during and after You-Know-Know's second rise.

Meanwhile, Adam's sister Mary begins to see the true horrors of her brother's beliefs while dealing with her own affectionate feelings for people she knows their family would disapprove of, and the group's friends Lidiane and Eric deal with the consequences of their friends' actions while trying to navigate their own lives, which end up intertwining with Mary's life in unexpected ways.

What starts as typical teenage drama quickly unfolds into something far more serious. Set in a time when pureblood fanaticism was especially present, The Game follows the stories of a group of friends during adolescence and adulthood.

* * *

 **A/N:** Hi, everybody! We hope you enjoy this story. We had a lot of fun writing it! We will update every Sunday or Monday night.

 **Rating:** This story is rated mature for violence, language, sexual content, and drug/alcohol use. If you would like to know more details about the mature content in this story, please feel free to message us! We don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

* * *

 **1 September 1996**

Alyson walked on to the Hogwarts Express. She was looking for her friends. She hadn't been able to find any of them at Platform 9 ¾, which wasn't very unusual considering how the station was always filled with students and their families. After passing by multiple students in the train's corridor, she finally saw her friend Haley. She smiled. She hadn't seen Haley through the entire summer holiday. Alyson walked up to her friend, whose back was towards her, and tapped her shoulder. "Hey!" she said happily.

Haley turned around to see who it was. She smiled a bit when she saw it was Alyson. "Oh, hey! Have you seen any empty compartments? I know there are some where the Slytherins hang out, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to go up there. There's one right here too, but it has a first year in it, and he won't leave," she added with an angry glance into the compartment they were standing in front of.

Alyson was amused by Haley's annoyance towards the first year. It was so like her. "Yeah, I passed one a couple compartments back. You can invite Mary or Dustin if you want to." Eric, Alyson's boyfriend, was nowhere to be found. At this point, Alyson was hoping he'd find her.

"Yeah, when I see them I'll let them know…if I see them," Haley said as they headed towards one of the empty ones. "Anyway, how was your summer?"

"It was good. Filled with lots of family time. It was nice to get to see my parents and all of my siblings again. How was your summer?" Alyson had five siblings, three of which were out of Hogwarts already. They entered the compartment and sat down, closing the door behind them.

"Eh, it was okay, I guess. I spent most of it home alone because my parents went to Spain without me," Haley said sourly.

"That really sucks. I'm sorry," Alyson apologized. She felt bad for Haley. She knew what her parents were like.

"Dustin and Mary came over for a little while, though," Haley replied with a shrug. She was an only child whose parents started to leave her alone for long periods of time as soon as she was old enough. "Speaking of which, where is everyone? It's getting pretty late, isn't it?" She stood up and opened the door just to run into Eric.

When Alyson saw Eric, her face lit up. She didn't get to see him much over the summer because he lived two hours away, though thankfully his parents installed a Muggle phone so he could make phone calls to his friends that also had a Muggle phone. She stood up. "Hey!" she said happily. She was smiling brightly.

"Hey!" Eric replied with a small smile of his own. He gave Alyson a hug after he walked into the compartment. She gave him a quick kiss before they let go, then they sat down next to each other. Alyson grabbed his hand then laced their fingers together.

Haley sat back down and tried not to roll her eyes. She'd never been a huge fan of Eric, but she never really said anything because Alyson obviously liked him. "Hello, Eric. How are you?" she said, not very conversationally.

Eric had always known Haley wasn't particularly fond of him, though he wasn't sure why because he never did anything to her. Oh well, he wasn't very keen on her either; she seemed stuck up and a bit self-centered. "Hi, Haley. I'm good. And you?" His tone was just as lacking in fondness as Haley's.

Just then, Mary knocked on the compartment door before opening it up.

"Mary!" Haley exclaimed excitedly. She quickly stood up and hugged her best friend, ignoring Eric in the process. "I was starting to think you were going to take a year off. Have you seen Dustin anywhere?"

Alyson had to suppress the urge to sigh when Haley brought up Dustin. She had mixed feelings about him. He could be incredibly sweet and charming at times, yet at other times he could be a manipulative arse. She was kind of amazed he and Haley were still a couple, but in a way they worked together.

Mary came in to the compartment and behind her was Lidiane, who was Alyson's best friend besides Haley. "No," Mary said as an answer to Haley's question, "but I found her and she kind of tagged along to help find you."

Alyson stood up once Mary and Lidiane were in the compartment. She was happy to see them both. All thoughts of Dustin had vanished from her mind. "Hey!" she said, giving Lidiane a hug, and then Mary. "I missed you both."

Haley sat back down in a huff. It was now two minutes until time to leave, and her boyfriend still hadn't showed up yet. Mary sat next to her and said, "He'll show up. He always does." She shifted the topic. "So, Alyson, Eric, I see you two made it through the summer. Did you get to spend time together?"

Alyson nodded eagerly while Eric just nodded casually. "Yeah, we got to spend a bit of time together, which was nice. His parents also installed a Muggle phone for him, which was really sweet, because that meant we could talk to each other on the phone. How was your summer, Mary?" she asked.

"Oh, not bad. I got to see Haley and Dustin some. My mom took me to America for a couple of weeks, too. That was interesting." She made a weird face that suggested she wouldn't be going back.

"Huh. I've always wanted to go to America," Alyson commented.

At that moment, the train started to move. They all stood up and waved to their parents through the window. As their parents faded from view, the door to their compartment opened. It was Dustin. Haley all but tackled him. "I thought you were lost! What took you so long? Where were you?" she demanded. He hugged her back then sat down next to her.

"I was taking care of some things," he said dismissively.

Mary snorted. "You mean you were telling some first years horror stories about Hogwarts before we even left the station?"

He just shrugged his shoulders before looking at everyone else in the compartment. "Hey, Alyson. How are you doing? Lidiane. Eric."

"I'm good, thank you. And you?" Alyson said politely, a polite smile accompanying her tone. Eric and Lidiane just nodded in return. Alyson was by far on better terms with Dustin than either of them were, though their relationship was very strained. Really, the only people in their little group from different houses who were truly friends were Haley and Alyson. Alyson, Lidiane, and Eric were all Gryffindors and best friends. Haley, Mary, and Dustin belonged to Slytherin and were also best friends. In fact, they had been friends before Hogwarts.

Alyson's friends weren't huge fans of Haley or Dustin, but Mary was always nice. Dustin didn't like any of the Gryffindors, but his best friends did, so he tolerated their do-good attitudes.

Just then, a couple of first years slid open the compartment doors. They had been chatting and laughing, but their eyes widened when they saw the teenagers sitting in the compartment. "Sorry!" the smallest one apologized. "We thought you were some other people, sorry."

"Do we look like a bunch of brats who don't know how to knock on a door before entering?" Haley asked rudely.

"Sorry!" one of the other first years squeaked.

"It's okay," Lidiane said kindly. She gave the first year a smile. "I hope you're able to find your friends."

"Good luck!" Alyson chimed in. She remembered being a nervous little first year, but she at least had several older siblings to help her around at first.

"Yeah, it looks like you're going to need it," Dustin added with a smirk. Haley smiled under the protection of her hand.

"Don't be a jerk, Dustin," Alyson said to him with a bit of a glare.

"Thank you," the first years said, looking a little nervous. One of them started to close the compartment door.

"Did I say you could leave yet?" Dustin asked the smallest first year. Alyson's input had made him mad. They stopped in their tracks.

"I-I- "

"Are you Muggle-born?" Haley asked.

Alyson glared at Haley. Had she forgotten Alyson was Muggle-born? Unfortunately, Haley had a tendency to sometimes show the prejudices against Muggle-borns that seemed to be so commonly shared among Slytherins. Alyson was an exception in Haley's eyes for some reason.

"I am," the smallest one answered innocently.

Alyson stood up, angry with both Haley and Dustin. "That's cool, I am too." She gave the first year a smile before turning to Dustin and Haley. "I'm switching carts, I don't want to sit with some of the people here," she said coolly. She started to exit the compartment. Eric and Lidiane followed her.

Haley stood up too. "All I did was ask a question! It's not like I was going to say anything about it. You never gave me a chance! Besides, I only asked because it was kind of like a giant red bullseye in his head, and I wanted to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong!"

"Why does it even matter?" Alyson asked, her tone one of annoyance. She didn't believe Haley's question was innocent for a second. To an outsider it might seem she jumped to conclusions, but she knew Haley. "You weren't just asking, you were going to make some derogatory comment," Alyson snapped. The first years walked away, feeling awkward and intimidated.

Haley rolled her eyes out of disbelief. "Oh yeah? When was the last time I said anything derogatory towards you? It's been at least a couple of months! Cut me some slack, I've always thought I was better than y-" she stopped and covered her mouth, and her eyes got big. Dustin had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. Mary's jaw dropped. Haley uncovered her mouth. "Alyson...that's not what I meant..."

Haley's words immediately stung Alyson. She had to use all of her will power to prevent her eyes from tearing up on the spot. "Sure it isn't," she said coldly. She walked all the way out of the compartment and slammed the door closed. She was so mad, but she was also so upset. Her lip began to tremble.

"Alyson, are you-" Eric began, but he was cut off.

"Let's just go," Alyson said sharply, though her voice was a little shaky. She began to walk down the aisle looking for another compartment, not really caring who they had to share it with.

They eventually found a compartment that had a couple of other Gryffindors they were acquainted with and joined them. Eric held Alyson's hand and tried to make her feel better. Even he was offended by what Haley had said. Alyson was appreciative of Eric's gesture. Despite the fact Haley's words were the primary focus of Alyson's thoughts, in the back of her mind she realized she usually was the one that initiated the hand-holding between her and Eric...well, all of the physical contact, really. But she was too upset about Haley to dwell on that fact for very long. She eventually began to feel a little bit better once she got into a good conversation with Eric, Lidiane, and the other Gryffindors.

While their compartment was conversing, Eric also noticed for the first time that he never initiated physical contact with Alyson. It felt kind of weird, but not really bad. They had been doing it for so long that their hands kind of fit together. Unlike Alyson, he dwelled on the topic.

* * *

After the conversation had been going on for a while and Alyson was mostly just listening, she began to think about Eric again. She wondered why she was always the one to initiate things. Maybe he was just shy...no, that didn't seem to be a good explanation. Eric was somewhat quiet, but certainly not shy. Maybe he was just shy with physical contact? She decided she'd talk to him about it sometime tonight or tomorrow, once they were back at school.

Meanwhile, Haley was mad about what had happened between her and Alyson. She was sitting with her arms crossed. Dustin had busted out laughing as soon as Alyson left, completely shocked that Haley would say something like that. Mary, on the other hand, was mad at Haley.

"A couple of months since you last called her a Mudblood? Jesus, Haley, that's not that long. Why do you think you're so much better than her?" she asked, annoyed with her best friend.

"It's been years since I called her a Mudblood! Sometimes, phrases just slip that are kind of derogatory towards Muggle-borns...and I meant to say I was raised to think a certain way. I don't think I'm better than her, although I do think I could have handled that situation better than she did, had it been reversed," Haley said haughtily. "I'll apologize when we get to school. Maybe she'll have cooled down enough to explain."

"She did overreact a bit," Mary agreed sympathetically. "Sorry for accusing you of thinking you're better than Alyson, though you have to admit, you do act that way sometimes. I'm sure she'll accept your apology. You guys are friends." She smiled a little.

* * *

The train finally came to a stop and everyone went in the direction of the thestral-drawn carriages. Haley sought Alyson out through the masses of students before she could get on one. Alyson nearly turned her back to Haley but decided against it. She wanted to see what Haley had to say.

"Look, I know what I said was stupid. It slipped out. But it really wasn't what I meant to say. I mean...you know how I was raised, and what I've been conditioned to think. I don't think I'm any better than you. You were right, though, I was about to go off on that first year. I got in the moment, and I'm sorry. For everything."

Alyson listened to Haley's apology, nodding her head a little bit. Her anger and hurt feelings began to dissolve with each passing word. "It's okay," she replied once Haley was done speaking. "I overreacted a little. I know how you were raised, and you just got back from being with your parents all summer. I should have been more understanding. I'm sorry about that. Shall we put this behind us?" She smiled a little bit.

Haley smiled back. "I was hoping you'd say that. Here, I forgot to give you this. I saw it when I went to visit Draco over the break and thought you would like it," she said with a shrug. She pulled out a gold chain with a small crystal star on the end of it. "It's supposed to be a good luck charm if you share it with your best friend," she said, as she pulled one out of her shirt.

Alyson smiled again. She felt touched that Haley would give her something intended for a best friend. "Thank you," she said as she gave Haley a hug. She took the necklace and put it on then tucked it under her shirt. "Here's to a good fifth year at Hogwarts," she declared happily.

"Cheers!" Haley added. All their friends climbed into one of the carriages that would take them up to Hogwarts.

* * *

They went to the feast, which went well as usual. Before they knew it, it was late evening. Alyson and Eric were hanging out together in an empty classroom, a suggestion Alyson had made so they could have some privacy. Lidiane had gone to bed early due to a headache.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?" Alyson asked him, slightly nervous. They were sitting next to each other at adjacent desks with their chairs pushed back.

"Sure, anything," Eric replied, sort of relieved that she had initiated the important talk they both needed to have.

"I mean... I'm probably just imagining things, I'm sorry if this offends you," Alyson apologized in advance, looking away for a second before looking back at him, "but I... well, I feel like I put forward most of the effort into this relationship, especially with stuff like…um, like physical stuff, like holding hands and kissing, and...well, I was just wondering why?" She nervously bit her lower lip.

Now it was Eric's turn to look away. He thought about lying and saying he was just shy, but she knew better. The truth was going to hurt her, though. "Alyson... I just... we've been together for a while, and I mean, you're cool. I like hanging out and things. It's just that sometimes when we're holding hands and kissing and stuff, it just doesn't feel right. I just do it because you want to..." He kind of trailed off to gauge her reaction, hoping for the best. He was looking at her again.

Alyson felt her heart sink as Eric spoke. Deep down that had been her fear, but she had been hoping for an answer she would like more, like he was shy or something. What he said really stung. "Oh," she said quietly, looking away again. After a moment she looked back at him. Her heart still felt sunken. "Why didn't you break it off sooner?" She felt a lump starting to form in her throat. She really liked Eric. _Don't you dare cry._

Eric looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. This was getting awkward. He looked back up and saw she was trying not to cry. "Oh, Alyson...don't cry…please, don't cry," he pleaded. "This is exactly why I haven't said anything before. I didn't want you to overreact. I didn't want to hurt you."

Alyson frowned a little. "I don't think I'm overreacting," she snapped. She immediately felt guilty for snapping. "Sorry," she said, shaking her head and sniffling a bit. "I'm just upset, that's all." Her voice broke a little. She realized it was probably better to break it off sooner rather than later, but she was upset he waited this long, and she was very hurt to find out the last few months had all been a lie. She stood up. "I think I'm going to go now," she said with forced indifference. She headed towards the door, a small part of her hoping that Eric would stop her. It was getting harder to hold back her tears.

Eric knew she wanted him to stop her, but he let her go, then sighed of relief. It felt nice to finally have that off his chest.

Alyson exited the classroom and shut the door behind her. The lump in her throat was very strong now. _Don't start crying until you reach the bathroom, don't start crying until you reach the bathroom._ She started to cry after only getting about five feet away from the classroom door, but she kept her head down and didn't stop walking until she reached another hallway, not wanting Eric to see her tears. _God, why couldn't he have said something earlier?!_

Dustin was walking around with some Slytherin friends of his. When Alyson walked past them with her head down, they immediately started making fun of her for crying. Dustin, however, knew better, plus he was a little intrigued; he had never seen her cry. She kept going, and Dustin stayed with his friends until he could disappear. He broke off from them and went the way she had been going.

Alyson stopped outside the nearest girls' bathroom with every intention of going in so she could cry in a stall, but she stopped for a minute outside of the bathroom and leaned against the wall. She hated how cruel the Slytherins could be. She wiped some tears from her eyes.

Dustin caught up to her, though he wasn't sure how to approach her because he didn't care about her wellbeing so much as he was just interested in knowing what had happened. "Hey, er, sorry about those guys back there. Are you okay?" he asked her, sounding authentic even though he didn't mean it at all. He was known to be a good liar.

Alyson looked up and blushed. She was embarrassed that Dustin was seeing her like this. "Not really," she answered, wiping away some more tears from her eyes before they could fall. She forced herself to keep eye contact with Dustin, who surprisingly seemed to care. "Eric just broke up with me," she explained quietly, sniffling a little.

Inside, Dustin smiled. He had never liked Eric. He was too quiet, and he was apathetic about anything he did talk about. Outside, he frowned. "Well, what did he do that for?" Dustin demanded. Jokingly, he added, "Want me to beat him up? Because I know some people who know some people, if you know what I mean."

Alyson smiled a little. She couldn't believe Dustin actually seemed to care, and she really couldn't believe that he was making her feel a little better. "He told me the feelings were never mutual," she explained, her voice a little shaky. "So the past seven months have all been a lie on his end, essentially."

"What a prick," he said. Not sure what else to say, he came and stood next to her and held an arm out for her to cry on his shoulder. "I know you really liked him, but he was never really cool anyway."

Alyson looked at him for a second. She was a bit wary of letting herself be this vulnerable around him. However, she was really sad, and so far he had been nice, so she leaned on him and began to cry on his shoulder, which was easy due to the considerable height difference between them. Her few tears turned into steady crying, and she ended up soaking the shoulder of his black robe in the process. Dustin was a little shocked that Alyson actually took the offer, but he patted her back and did his best not to be as awkward as he felt.

Alyson's crying began to calm after a few minutes, and she said, "I wish he would have ended it sooner if that was the case, you know?" There were still tears in her eyes.

Dustin didn't say much else because he didn't really know how to handle this; Haley had Mary for stuff like this. Instead, he just let her talk and cry. It was a good choice, because Alyson just appreciated him being there. She was still surprised he even stopped to ask. She lifted her head up and wiped the tears away from her eyes. She was done crying for now. "Thank you," she said, her sense of surprise slightly apparent in her tone. She gave him a hug.

Dustin let her hug him, but he didn't really reciprocate. "Don't tell anyone about this, ok? I can't let my reputation be tarnished by an act of good will," he said with a wink.

Alyson smiled a little bit. Of course he wouldn't want this to be known about, that was so typical of him, but she couldn't bring herself to get mad at him about that; he was being too kind to her. "I won't, I promise," she said.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at her face to see if she was still crying. "Want me to get Haley and Mary to throw you a sleep over or something?"

"I'm fine, but thank you for the offer," Alyson said, smiling again. She was touched by his kindness. She never thought he'd ever be this nice to her. _Maybe there's an ulterior motive._ She pushed the thought out of her mind. "I guess I'll see you around?" she asked.

Dustin nodded. "See you."

They went their separate ways. He went to the Slytherin common room and found Haley and Mary sitting in front of the fireplace gossiping. He came and plopped down on Haley's lap and kissed her in the middle of a sentence. "Hey ladies. I have some better gossip for you," he said when they broke apart. "Guess who just found a crying, newly single Mudblood next to a girls' lavatory?"

"You did not," Mary insisted knowing immediately who he meant. There weren't many Muggle-borns that Dustin would bother to talk about. "Did Eric and Alyson really break up? Did she see that you saw her?" She was very curious.

Dustin was careful to avoid details on the last question. "Yeah, apparently he's been lying to her about liking her or something. She was pretty upset. I asked her if she was okay. She kind of stopped crying and told me what happened."

Haley was a little shocked. " _You_ stopped and asked what was wrong? Did she seem like she was okay? I thought they were happy together. I wonder what happened," she pondered.

Dustin shrugged. "She looked as okay someone can look after a break up. Like I said, she told me the feelings were never mutual. He leading her on that whole time. That's how she explained it, anyway. I have no problem believing it. Eric always seemed spineless to me."

Mary was just as surprised as Haley. "I always thought he seemed really nice," she stated.

Haley kind of laughed. "Isn't that the point? He was always just...there. He was never mean or anything, but I wouldn't say he was nice either. If you ask me, Alyson could do better anyway. She needs someone who can stick up for them self and for her."

Dustin stood up from Haley's lap and stretched out his arms before saying, "Well anyway, I just wanted to share. Thought you would be interested. I have to see a man about some things." He kissed Haley and disappeared into the boys' dormitory.

* * *

Eric was sitting alone at a table in the corner of the library, trying to keep his mind off of what just happened by studying some herbology book he actually had very little interest in studying. He really did like Alyson as a friend, and he felt terrible for what he did to her. The guilt was gnawing at him on the inside. He was thinking about what happened when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

He turned around and came face to face with a large guy whom he was fairly sure was from Slytherin. The guy looked down at Eric and quietly said, "Get your things and come with me. Act natural. Don't start any trouble in here, or you'll regret it." Eric, unsure what to do and not wanting to provoke this guy, did as he was told.

They went out of the library and into a nearby classroom. Waiting for them were two other guys, just as large, if not larger, than the one who escorted Eric. The desks had been pushed against the walls, and they were all standing in the middle of the room. Eric got a sinking feeling in his heart that something bad was going to happen. He reached for his wand, just for it to be snatched from his hand by the guy who has brought him in. "You won't be needing this," the guy insisted with an evil smirk across his face. Eric started to panic a little. He could feel his heartrate increasing.

"What am I doing here? What's going on?" he asked, trying to keep the shakiness out of his voice. He realized his hands were shaking too. The first guy pushed him closer to the other guys, who caught him and held him there. The first guy walked closer and cracked his knuckles.

"What's going on is we hear you don't know how to treat a lady," he said before he punched Eric square in the jaw. Eric didn't notice any pain, but he saw black for just a moment. Blood spewed from his mouth. "And we're here to teach you a lesson," the guy said as he punched Eric the other way. Now Eric's head was throbbing, and his feelings of panic had fully set in. The guys continued to hit him in this fashion, until someone else walked in the room. Eric's vision was too blurry to see who it was, and his ears were ringing, but the unknown person must have told them to drop him because he hit the floor. He was on his hands and knees, coughing up blood when suddenly someone grabbed his hair and pulled it back. Eric heard this part.

"I hope you've learned your lesson, pretty boy. What you did to Alyson was crueler than this, and you deserve worse. I don't have time to deal what you deserve, however, so I'm granting you mercy. Next time you think about playing with someone's emotions, remember this."

And with that, whoever it was dropped Eric's hair, and his head hit the floor, knocking him out cold.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey, everyone! Here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Details regarding some of the mature content in this chapter are in the author's note at the end of the chapter. As always, if you have any questions regarding the mature content of this story, feel free to message us.

* * *

Alyson walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room and read a book in a cushy chair in the corner until she was the last person in the room. She hadn't seen Eric pass through at all. Huh, that was weird. She had been secretly hoping she'd see him walk in, but maybe he had already gone up to his dormitory by the time she came in. Trying to deny her own disappointment, she went up to bed and tried to sleep, failing because she couldn't stop thinking about Eric. Dustin kept popping up in her mind too, and how surprisingly kind he had been. She tossed and turned and eventually fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **2 September 1996**

The next morning, Alyson went down to breakfast at her normal time. Haley was there to greet her with lots of hugs, and she immediately started with the questions. "I heard what happened. I'm so sorry. How are you? How did this happen? Do you need anything? Have you talked to him? I haven't seen him yet, not that I would talk to him anyway..."

Alyson gladly accepted all the hugs, still feeling sad, though she was determined to act as optimistic as possible today. "Thank you. I'm okay, I guess. I'll tell you about it at breakfast. I don't think I need anything, but thank you. I haven't talked to him, I actually haven't seen him since he broke up with me, not even in the common room."

"Well, let's sit down and get some food in you. I think I saw some chocolate eclairs close to the end of one of the tables, and we all know chocolate is the best medicine," Haley said with a sly smile. She didn't like seeing Alyson sad, and although she was putting on a brave face, it was clear she was not very happy. "Maybe talking about it will help some, anyway."

Alyson smiled when Haley made the comment about chocolate. "Yeah, maybe," she agreed. She sat down with Haley and began to put some food on her plate, even though she wasn't very hungry. "So last night I decided I wanted to talk to him about how I felt like I was the one putting all the effort into the relationship," she explained as she put pancakes on her plate. "And then you know what he told me? He never really had feelings for me in the first place, he was just leading me on that whole time because he didn't want to hurt my feelings." _A little late for that,_ she thought.

"He did not say that! So instead of breaking it off before you really liked him, he let you fall for him before he told you, so he wouldn't hurt you? Wow, that's logical. That makes _so_ much sense," Haley said sarcastically. "God, guys can be such jerks sometimes. Why do we even bother with them? I'm sorry, Alyson. I know you liked him, but you deserve better anyway."

Alyson laughed a little at Haley's speech. She was always very passionate and dramatic about everything. "I know, I have to agree. I can't wait to get over him, I hate the heartbreak stage, you know? It really sucks." She started to eat some food, looking around the Great Hall. "I haven't seen him at all this morning either. I wonder if he's avoiding me."

Mary sat down as Alyson said this and replied, "I haven't seen him either, and I've actually been looking. If he's avoiding you, he's doing a pretty good job."

Lidiane came by and sat down next to Alyson, and her eyes flashed up and met Mary's momentarily. Lidiane felt her face grow hot for a moment before she shook it off and quickly turned her attention to Alyson again. "I'm so sorry," she said, giving her a hug. Alyson hugged her back, knowing they'd be having a good long chat about the breakup later that day. "You'll never guess who's in the hospital wing..." she told the group as though she was holding onto a huge secret.

"Oh, who is it?" Haley asked, eager for some gossip.

Dustin plopped down next to her and said, "Our old friend, Eric," as he reached for some bacon.

Alyson's face paled for a second, and her stomach dropped. What had happened? Dustin didn't really let those guys beat him up, did they? "Does anyone know what happened?" she asked.

Lidiane rubbed Alyson's back to help calm her down. "Rumor has it that he was beaten up by some burly Slytherins," she said, casting a shady glance at Dustin as if she read Alyson's thoughts. Mary and Haley looked surprised, but he just continued eating nonchalantly.

Suddenly Dustin shrugged and commented, "Even if it was, who knows? It was probably just Draco's cronies. You know how they get when they're hungry."

Alyson's brows furrowed a little. Maybe he was right. "Either way, it's terrible what happened," she commented, genuinely feeling bad for Eric, though a small part of her couldn't help but to feel he had it coming. He had broken her heart, after all. She decided she'd talk to Dustin privately after breakfast about it.

Haley also shrugged. "Serves him right, if you ask me," she told Mary, just low enough for the two of them. Mary couldn't help but to smile at her friend. She always had something to say, even if it was incredibly rude.

"Are you going to go and see him?" Lidiane asked Alyson.

Alyson bit her lower lip, hesitating with her answer. She honestly didn't know. Was it too soon after the breakup to go see him? "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I don't want to make him feel awkward, you know?"

"I don't think he's conscious," Dustin interjected, looking up at Alyson for the first time. Their eyes met and Dustin felt oddly attracted to her just then.

Alyson gave him a suspicious look, desperately curious as to whether or not he was responsible for this.

After breakfast, the heads of houses handed out their students' schedules, and the group figured out which classes they had together. Potions (big surprise), Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts were all on the list of shared classes. Transfiguration was first.

When they all got up and started walking to class, Alyson gently grabbed Dustin's arm and pulled him aside. "Are you responsible for what happened to Eric?" she asked quietly, getting straight to the point.

Dustin was completely taken off guard. He didn't like being interrogated like this. "Why's it matter?" he asked defensively as he narrowed his eyes.

"It doesn't, not really," she answered truthfully. "I would just like to know." She stood her ground. Dustin didn't intimidate her.

"Interesting," he pondered out loud. "I always took you for being a nice person. I may or may not have had something to do with this. Or maybe he just got what he deserved."

Alyson raised her eyebrows. "I've never had anyone do something like that for me," she commented, knowing that Dustin had to have been behind it. Part of her felt terrible about it, but part of her felt flattered. Dustin scoffed at the idea. "Maybe I'm not as nice as you think," Alyson added before walking off and catching up with the girls. She felt so conflicted about everything.

Dustin stayed there for a minute in shock. What had just happened? How did she know it was him? Was she seriously okay with this? And anyway, she isn't nice since when? He shook his head then got back to heading to towards class slowly this time, knowing he wouldn't catch up with them

* * *

Soon classes were over and Lidiane and Alyson headed to the library to go do their homework. Mary decided she was going to go visit Eric. She felt bad for him, even if what he did to Alyson was shitty. She entered the Hospital Wing and immediately saw the bed he was sitting in. It was the same one she sat in when she broke her arm while watching Quidditch. The bludger hit her, and they brought her to the same bed. It made her smile.

Even from the door Eric looked bad. She waved to him as she walked on over, taking a seat by his bed. "Hey," she said with the same little smile.

Eric could barely see her through his puffy eyes, but he thought she looked prettier than usual. He returned the smile as best he could. "Hey, Mary," he said. He didn't sound half as bad as he looked. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come visit you," she answered, which was the truth. "How are you feeling?" she asked. He looked even worse up close. His face was covered in bruises.

"Well, aside from my pride, I feel fine. Madame Pomfrey says the swelling should go down soon. The pain is already gone so that's a plus," Eric started. "I just wish I could remember who did it. Someone was there and saying something, but it's all wonky in my head now. I told McGonagall everything I remembered, but I don't think it was enough to catch whoever it was."

"My guess is some kids from Slytherin, maybe Draco Malfoy's cronies," Mary replied. "I'm glad to hear you're feeling better. Do you know when you'll be released?"

Eric shook his head. "No, it definitely wasn't them. I remember leaving the library with some guy, and we went to a classroom where there was two other guys. They said something about treating a lady wrong and started hitting me." He shuddered. "I don't remember much after that."

That sounded like something Dustin would get his people up to, but Dustin didn't really like Alyson, so it made no sense that he would do that for her. "That's odd and terrible," Mary commented. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope those guys get caught and get punished."

A silence passed between them. Eric was checking Mary out as best as he could. She really did look pretty with the sunlight shining on her through the windows. "Thank you for coming here. Do you know if anyone else has been in?"

Mary shook her head. "You're welcome. Honestly, I wanted to come. I don't think anyone else has come, but I could be mistaken, though. I know Alyson wanted to see you. I think Lidiane, too." She noticed Eric looking at her and smiled a little.

"I kind of hope she doesn't come," Eric said honestly. "It's too soon to try to be friends. I mean, I really want to be friends, but seven months is a long time. It would be incredibly awkward."

Mary nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, she said that's why she didn't plan on coming—she didn't want things to be awkward. I'm sure you guys will be able to make up and be friends again," she said optimistically.

Eric couldn't stop smiling. He had always liked how positive of a person Mary usually seemed to be. "Why are you a Slytherin again?" he asked her.

Mary smiled a little. "I don't know, I've wondered the same a couple of times. Maybe the ambition thing? Plus my family has a history for being in Slytherin. I always wondered why you weren't in Ravenclaw; you're so smart."

He would have blushed if not for the already red face. "Thanks, but I'm not that kind of smart."

"Don't try to be modest, of course you are," she protested. "You got straight O's last year." She blushed a little, realizing he might see it as kind of weird that she remembered that. "Plus you always help me with my arithmency homework like it's the easiest thing in the world."

Eric laughed, then grimaced. "You remember my marks last year?" he asked, flattered. She blushed even deeper red. "Hey, it's fine. If it makes you feel any better, the only reason I passed potions is because I copied you."

"Oh, well, I guess we're even then," Mary teased, giving him another smile and a little laugh. They continued to chat about various things for the next several hours.

* * *

Dustin and Haley went to the Slytherin common room to do their homework. They only did about half of it, however, because they couldn't stop flirting and snogging. Eventually they called it a night on the homework and just cuddled and kissed in front of the fireplace.

They were the only ones left in the common room. In the middle of a snogging session, Dustin started to slip his hand up Haley's shirt.

At first Haley thought it felt nice, when it was just her back he was touching. Then he tried to unsnap her bra and she pushed his hand down. "Not yet," she said gently, still kissing him.

Dustin kept kissing her and let his hand fall for a moment. He soon reached back up and tried to unsnap her bra again. She pushed his hand down again, too. "Come on, Haley, I've been waiting for months," he pleaded.

Haley reluctantly pulled away from him. "Dustin, I know it's been months since we talked about it, but you've known me for years. You know I'm not going to just give it up," she explained. "I want it to be special."

"We could make it special right now," he protested. "We could find someplace and set up, let it be just the two of us. It would be nice." His voice was smooth, but he was getting annoyed with his girlfriend.

Haley was also getting agitated with Dustin, who knew how she felt about this. "No, we can't make it special right now. Especially not with you acting like this. There's a lot of things that I don't mind you doing, but this is not one of them," she protested.

"Come on, Haley, don't be such a prude," Dustin insisted, the annoyance now apparent in his tone. He forcibly pressed a firm kiss to her lips and placed a hand somewhere he knew Haley probably would prefer he didn't, but he didn't care. She needed to get over herself. She had kept him waiting long enough.

Haley immediately felt scared of Dustin. She tried to push him off, but he held her tight. "Dustin, please no," she begged him. He didn't listen. He was kissing her neck and lips and rubbing her in places she had never been rubbed before. "Dustin, stop!" she said a little louder. She didn't want to cause a scene, but this was so wrong.

Adam, Mary's tall and handsomely blonde older brother, quickly came down the stairs of the boys' dormitory. "What's going on out here?" he asked, rushing over to the sofa. Dustin pulled away from Haley, still keeping her on his lap with a tight hold. She was still squirming a little bit.

"Go back upstairs and mind your own business, Smith," Dustin said harshly, annoyed he had been interrupted.

At this point Haley had started crying. "Adam, make him stop," she pleaded. This infuriated both of the guys for different reasons.

"Don't you love me, Haley?" Dustin asked Haley. She just kept looking at Adam pleadingly. She needed his help so bad. Surely he wouldn't let her be taken by Dustin like this? He had known her for years.

"Dustin, leave her alone," Adam said, walking over to Dustin and grabbing him by the arms, forcefully pulling him off of Haley. He was so mad at Dustin; he was making such an arse out of himself. Forcing yourself on a girl was wrong on so many levels.

Adam let him go and Dustin stepped back; Adam was much bigger than he was. Dustin was furious that Haley would do this to him. "Fine, if this is how you're going to act, we're done," he spat at her. "I don't want a prude like you anyway." He stormed off through the stone entryway into the dungeons outside. It was just Adam and Haley in the common room now, and she just leaned back on the sofa and started crying. What the hell had just happened? Dustin always had a temper, but he had never once turned it on Haley until now.

Adam sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her, shifting himself so she could cry on his shoulder and marveling at how perfectly she fit into his arms. He didn't say anything, what could he possibly say to make her feel better? Her boyfriend—now ex-boyfriend—had just felt her up against her will then broke up with her because she asked someone to protect her. He was furious with Dustin. Adam wasn't done with him yet, but right now he wanted to comfort Haley.

Eventually Haley stopped crying and sat up. She smiled sadly at Adam. "Thank you. I don't know what would have happened...I just don't know what happened...it was fine, and then it wasn't, and I couldn't stop it. I'm so glad I have you," she said, reaching over and hugging him again.

Adam hugged her back, feeling protective. It was more than he should feel for his sister's best friend. "I'll make sure he doesn't bother you again like that, okay? I'm so sorry that happened to you," he said, arms still wrapped around her in a hug.

Eventually, the swelling went down in Eric's face and Madame Pomfrey let him leave with Mary. Apparently she had stayed there for more than a couple hours. They bade each other goodnight and went to their respective houses. Mary entered the Slytherin common room to a sight she was completely and utterly shocked to see. Haley and Adam were sleeping cuddled up on the sofa in front of the fire place.

Mary hesitated, unsure of what to do for a moment. This was crazy! Haley and her brother was such a weird sight... _and_ Haley had a boyfriend. This wasn't fair to Dustin at all. "Haley, Adam!" she hissed, going over to them and shaking them awake.

Adam's eyes shot open, but Haley didn't move, so he shook her a little. She sat up and looked around. "Mary, what time is it?" she asked.

Mary was more concerned with what was going on, however. "What happened?" she demanded, crossing her arms.

Haley sighed. She got up, said goodnight to Adam, and went upstairs with Mary. They sat down on her bed together and faced each other. "Long story short, Dustin tried to force himself on me, and your brother stepped in. Dustin dumped me, and Adam comforted me," Haley explained.

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Mary asked, all worries about Haley being with her brother vanquished, at least for now. "I can't believe he did that," she continued, stunned. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm better now. I can't believe he would do it either. He's never done anything like this before!" Haley exclaimed. Although, if she were honest with herself, she wasn't entirely surprised. She thought again about how he had a violent streak in him, but he never used it against Haley. She had a violent streak too, though, and she wasn't scared of him. "I want to hurt him."

Mary sighed, "Yeah, me too. How dare he put his hands on you like that! I'm glad Adam was around. Who knows what would have happened?

Haley shuddered. "I don't want to think about that. I'm trying to look at the bright side to ease my mind. At least I'm single now…."

"Yeah, now you can move onto much better guys," Mary said optimistically, but she knew Haley wouldn't get over Dustin quite that easily and quickly. They had been together for a couple of years now and best friends since birth before that. "Maybe we can come up with some kind of revenge plan," she suggested, hoping that would make Haley feel better. It was juvenile, but she and Haley sometimes enjoyed playing pranks on people who had done wrong to them.

Haley shrugged and looked down at her hands. "He's not really worth it," she said sullenly. "I can't think of anything anyway that would make this better." She was lying. She could think of something, but it didn't have anything to do with Dustin. and she didn't want Mary to know she was thinking about her brother.

Mary gave her best friend a sympathetic look and hugged her. "Okay. Just let me know if there's anything I can do for you, yeah?"

"Yeah, of course," Haley replied. "Thank you, Mary. Do you mind if I go back downstairs? I'm not very tired right now..." Mary said she didn't mind, so Haley went back down to the common room. Adam hadn't moved so she went and sat next to him on the sofa, although not as close as she had originally been.

"I want to kill him," Adam said after she got comfortable.

"He's not worth it. He never was. I just want to forget he ever existed," Haley responded matter-of-factly.

"I can't blame you. He's a total prick. I never really liked him. I pity the next girl in his life..." Adam gave Haley a sympathetic look, then realized she probably wanted to talk about anything else. "I mean, who are we talking about? I've never heard of this kid before, are you sure he exists?" He winked.

She shoved him playfully. "Anyway, thank you for being here. I don't know what I would have done without you," she said truthfully. "Now if only you could hang around all the time to keep my mind off it when he's around."

Adam gave her a sympathetic smile. An idea struck him. "We could hang out more, you know, if you would really like that," he told her, eyebrows raising slightly in anticipation. He always enjoyed Haley's company over the summers when she stayed with Mary for weeks at a time.

Haley smiled a little to herself. She had always fancied Adam a little when they were kids, and this was bringing back very old memories. "Yeah, I might like that," she replied passively. "Your friends wouldn't think you were lame for hanging around a fifth year?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Even if they did, I wouldn't care, you're far cooler than a lot of the seventh years." Adam would probably never admit this to anyone, but even as kids he had a bit of a crush on Haley.

"Please, you don't have to tell me things I already know," she scoffed. "I just don't want you to be shunned, is all."

He laughed out loud at her. "I am King of Slytherin, Haley. If anyone is to be shunned it will be _by_ me," he returned.

It was her turn to laugh. "The King of Slytherin? I've always wanted to be royalty," she joked then blushed deeply.

"Maybe you will be some day," he told her with a triumphant smile. "You're already on very good terms with the Royal Family, being friends with both the King and his sister," he joked, shifting so they were sitting slightly closer, though not enough to really suggest anything.

"Yeah, except the sister would be a royal nuisance in that case...and anyway, I just got dumped. I can't start planning our wedding yet, it'll look suspicious," she joked back. Then she looked sad again. "I wish I could just forget about this whole catastrophe for a while."

Adam gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Haley. I wish you could too. Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?

"Unless you have something that will give me temporary amnesia without hexing me, then no. Although I would enjoy some company for a while," she stated. She readjusted so her knee rested on his leg. Adam had a sort of reputation for smuggling Muggle drugs sometimes, but she didn't want to say so outright, and she wasn't lying about wanting the company.

"I might have something, if you're really interested," Adam offered, a little hesitant because he was unsure of whether she was implying she wanted drugs or not.

"What is it?" Haley asked quietly, quite interested indeed.

"It's an herb that you smoke and it gives you a really euphoric feeling. It's my favorite," he added with a slightly mischievous smile.

"Does it make you forget about bad things?" she asked him.

He thought for a moment before answering, "Not exactly, but it will make you forget about thinking about it."

She nodded. "I'd like to try that."

Adam gave her another mischievous grin. "Want to try some right now? We'd have to find someplace to smoke it.

"I know somewhere," Haley offered immediately. She waited while he darted upstairs to get it, and then they snuck out of the common room. She led him to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. "It's not ideal, but it's private enough."

"This place is actually really good, I've used it before," he told her. They sat down on the tiled floor, and he handed her a joint.

Haley looked at the unfamiliar object, unsure of what to do. Adam smiled and lit it for her then showed her what to do. They sat in the bathroom and smoked it. Twenty minutes later, they were both feeling the effects. Haley couldn't stop giggling, and Adam was just staring at the wall with a goofy grin on his face.

"This is great, isn't it?" Adam asked her with a big smile. He laughed a little at how cute she looked. She looked like nothing was wrong in the world, like she was completely care and worry free, on top of feeling happy, which was nice.

Haley just looked at him and started giggling again. He was right, though. She had completely forgotten about her troubles earlier in the evening. Eventually she calmed down enough to say, "I never want this feeling to stop."

He nodded, "It doesn't have to. I have loads of this and, well, I'd be willing to offer you some, for a price."

She laughed and replied, "I'll pay anything as long as you'll do it with me."

Adam gave her a big, goofy grin. He decided a change of scenery would be nice. "How about we take a tour of the school?" he asked happily, standing up and reaching his hand out to help her up.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alyson and Lidiane had finished their homework quickly and spent a little time out on the grounds.

They were both sitting down under a short tree with thick leaves and branches, just hanging out. Lidiane was leaned against the tree, while Alyson sat cross legged in front of her. "So what did you talk to Dustin about?" Lidiane asked curiously. "I saw you pull him aside this morning before class."

Alyson twisted some grass in her hands nervously. "I asked him if he had any idea who beat up Eric," she answered truthfully. "I thought he might know."

Lidiane was curious. "Did he know anything?" she asked.

Alyson shook her head. "No, he didn't. At least he claimed he didn't," she lied. He didn't explicitly say it was him, but she had a feeling it was.

"Hm, I'm sure he was lying," Lidiane said quietly **. "** Wasn't Dustin the first person to know? It kind of fits, you see? The timing, I mean."

"You both sat down at nearly the same time this morning, I thought you were technically first. You were going to make the announcement, he just finished it for you," Alyson pointed out. God, was she defending Dustin? That was terrible, especially since she knew he was behind it. "Maybe he is lying, but I guess we might never know."

Lidiane eyed at Alyson through her lashes for a minute. "Let's go see Eric and ask him about it," she suggested. "Maybe he can tell us what happened. I'm just curious to know who would do something like this. I mean, can it really be a coincidence that it happened right after he broke up with you?"

"You can go see him, but I...it's not that I don't want to go, I just think it would be really awkward for both of us, and I don't want to put him through that, you know?" Alyson hoped Lidiane understood what she meant. "Mary probably visited him in the Hospital Wing. We could always ask her about it tomorrow."

Lidiane nodded, "Yeah, you're probably right. I don't know if I want to talk to him right now, anyway. I know it doesn't directly affect me, but what he did was incredibly rude, you know? He broke my best friend's heart."

Alyson nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty rude what he did. God, I still can't believe it! It all still seems so unreal, almost like it didn't happen, but it did."

Lidiane rubbed her friend's knee. "It'll get better in time, it always does," she soothed. "Anything I can do to help while we wait? Prank seventh years? Buy you huge books and bags of candy in Hogsmeade later?"

Alyson smiled a little at her friend's response. "We'll see what happens," she said, appreciative of Lidiane's kindness. She looked at her watch. "We should probably start heading back to the common room, it's almost nine."

Lidiane nodded. "Okay, sounds good," she said as she started to get up. "They really should extend the older students' curfew until at least ten."

Alyson got up as well, and the two of them started walking back to the castle. "I know! Nine is ridiculous."

Lidiane nodded in agreement, and they walked in silence for few minutes. Lidiane started to say something about their classes, but she noticed someone headed their way and held her tongue on the subject. "Is that Dustin?" she asked instead. "I'm not entirely shocked that he's out this late, I suppose." They kept going, and as they got closer they noticed that he wasn't going towards them, but towards the forest behind them; he looked furious.

"He looks upset," Alyson commented, watching him walk by. He didn't even seem to notice them standing there staring at him. "I'll catch up with you in a minute, I'm going to go see what's wrong," she told her friend, looking at her briefly before heading in Dustin's direction. She realized she never told Lidiane about how Dustin comforted her, so she was probably wondering why Alyson was doing this. Oh well. She caught up to Dustin and kindly asked, "Hey, is everything okay?"

Dustin didn't stop walking, but he cast her a dumbfounded look. "What business is it of yours?" he asked harshly.

His tone stung a little, but Alyson wasn't one to let herself be offended by Dustin's attitude unless he was really being horrible. "It's none of my business, actually. I just thought maybe you'd like someone to talk to, but if that's not the case, I can go," she said coolly.

"No, what I would like is someone's arms to break and a practice dummy to test some not-so-legal curses," Dustin replied angrily with a specific person in mind. He stopped walking and faced her. "Why are you talking to me after everything I've done to you anyway? Just because I let you cry on my shoulder doesn't make us best friends."

"I know that," Alyson replied. "I'm just trying to be nice." She refrained from fully snapping back. "You know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom has some dummies you could practice on, if you want to sneak in there. You could either stay there or bring a dummy outside or something, I don't know. Good luck with everything." She gave him a smile the turned around, walking back to the castle.

Dustin hesitated and weighed his options, then quickly grabbed her hand before she got too far. "Hey, look I'm... I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you, it's just that, well, me and Haley just broke up, and I'm not sure how to handle it." He didn't drop her hand after getting her attention.

Alyson squeezed his hand a little when he told her the news. She was stunned, she never would have guessed they'd break up, at least not now. They seemed like such a happy couple in their own way. They always bickered, but they had bickered since they were old enough to do so. It wasn't anything weird. "I'm so sorry," she said sympathetically. She kind of lifted her arms to offer him a hug, feeling slightly awkward because of all the things he had done, but she felt bad for him.

Dustin turned away, thoroughly ignoring her offer, simply because he was not in the mood for sympathy. "I dumped her," he said angrily. "I don't want your sympathy, I want to kill them both. I need you to stop me."

His anger made her feel a little scared (he sounded too serious for her liking), but she decided not to let it bother her. She crossed her arms, thinking about what to do. It occurred to her he said 'them,' and she didn't know who the other person was. "I know this wouldn't be as good, but I was serious about stealing that dummy from the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, then using it to practice unsavory spells on. You could always write their names on it or something, I know a spell to erase it." She felt a little bit guilty about suggesting that, since Haley was her friend, but she supposed she was preventing Dustin from actually going and bothering Haley, so that was a good thing, right? That reminded her, why did he break up with her anyway? What if it was an awful reason? She made a note to ask later.

"No, that wouldn't help. Or maybe it would. I've never been this mad before. What do I do?" Dustin said, painfully aware that he was more vulnerable now than he ever had been.

Alyson had never seen Dustin like this before. "I think the dummy thing might help," she answered, "or we could talk about what happened. I know that sounds cliché, but talking over things sometimes does really help."

Dustin smiled a smile that Alyson was none too fond of. It was mischievous and malicious. "Let's do the dummy thing, but let's do it my way. How good are you at transfiguration?" he asked, knowing that she was one of the top students in class.

"I'm good at it, I guess," she replied warily. She had an idea of what he was getting at, and she didn't like it.

"Then let's go," Dustin said, not wanting to wait to act out his plan. He began to walk towards the castle and Alyson followed, slightly apprehensive of what she had just gotten herself into while also intrigued, plus she did want to help Dustin feel better.

They snuck into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and got their hands on one of the dummies. "The reason I asked about your abilities," Dustin began, "is because I want you to try to make these dummies look a little more...lifelike." He wanted them to look as much like the people he was furious with as possible. He wanted to feel like he was hurting them in order to get this anger he felt on the outside instead.

"Okay," Alyson hesitantly agreed. That sounded slightly sadistic, but they were just dummies, not the real people, so there was no real harm…at least that's what she told herself. "What do you want them to look like?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

* * *

Haley, eager for the tour of the school, took Adam's hand and stood up with his help. They walked around and went in and out of the classrooms, taking corridors off the beaten path since it was well after curfew. They got to the third floor and went into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, coming face to face with the reason they were together in the first place. Haley froze and Adam immediately tensed up. This wasn't going to end well.

Dustin turned around and took on the same posture Adam took on. A tense, uncomfortable silence overcame the room. Alyson, unsure of how to act at the situation, stayed quiet out of awkwardness. It was Dustin who broke it.

"I'm glad to see you managed to get over me so quickly," Dustin said coldly to Haley, glaring at her, his eyes like daggers. He was seething with rage. "I guess that's what whores like you do."

Suddenly Haley was almost just as mad as he was, her entire buzz gone. She opened her mouth to retort, but it was Adam who spoke up first. "How dare you! You have absolutely no right to call her anything, you bloody coward, let alone speak to her!" he spat at Dustin.

"I can call her whatever the hell I want, you bastard!" Dustin spat back, marching up to Adam. His fear of Adam's size seemed to evaporate. "Do you realize how shitty it is to steal someone else's girlfriend right after a breakup?!"

Alyson felt so awkward, she didn't know what to do. She looked over to Haley, who looked furious.

Haley noticed Alyson for the first time and their eyes met. The confusion of Alyson's presence added to her rage. "What the hell are you doing with him, anyway?" Haley demanded. She realized she shouldn't be snapping at Alyson. None of this was her fault, though she was still curious as to what Alyson was hanging out with Dustin for. They had never been friendly.

Alyson felt some anger rise in her. She opened her mouth, about to say something back, but Dustin cut in first, turning on his heel to face Haley. "That's really none of your business now, is it?"

"First off, you have no right to talk to her like that, so _fuck off_ ," Adam said and he stepped in front of Haley right into Dustin's face. "Secondly, I didn't steal your girlfriend. She's you ex-girlfriend. _You_ screwed up, remember? So do as you're told, and back the fuck up."

The girls watched in horror as Adam and Dustin kept fighting.

"Don't fucking tell me what to do!" Dustin yelled angrily, shoving Adam with such force that Adam actually stumbled back a bit. Adam looked shocked, but he knew he could take Dustin. He decided not to pursue it, though.

"Oh, look at you acting all high and mighty now that your new girlfriend is around. I never thought you'd sink so low, anyway, hanging around a Mudblood," Adam spat back right in Dustin's face, striking a nerve with everyone in the room.

Dustin gave a cold, humorless laugh. "You better watch who you call a Mudblood," he said, his tone darker now. His hate filled eyes flashed over Adam's shoulder to Haley, who he noticed looked slightly scared, before focusing back on Adam.

"Adam, let's just go," Haley said, grabbing Adam's hand. This, of course, infuriated Dustin all over again. He pulled out his wand as he backed up and sent a hex at their hands which shocked them apart before they had time to think. Adam pulled out his wand and pointed it at Dustin.

"I'll give you one warning, prick. Don't _ever_ point your elementary magic at me," he said darkly, keeping his wand raised. "I've dabbled in magic your puny little mind couldn't even comprehend. If you want a taste, go for it, but I'm going to warn you to stand down."

Dustin gave him a smirk. "I might just take you up on that offer sometime," he said coolly.

"Dustin, let's go," Alyson said, thinking Haley's suggestion was a good idea. She hesitantly grabbed his arm.

Haley met Alyson's eye again, all suspicion gone and replaced by fear. "Adam, come on," she pleaded, grabbing his hand again and getting the same reaction from Dustin. Adam sent a curse meant to stick Dustin's tongue to the roof of his mouth.

The curse worked, and Dustin was furious. They hadn't reached the point in their studies of learning how to do nonverbal spells, so he couldn't do anything in return. Alyson pulled him away before he did anything stupid, afraid he would resort to punching Adam or something. "Let's _go_ ," she said insistently. She kept her hold on his arm and began to walk away, hoping he would follow.

Dustin jerked his arm out of her grasp and gave Adam a glare that could have boiled his blood. Alyson's hand fell helplessly to her side.

"Adam, undo it and let's go," Haley insisted again.

Adam didn't undo it; he just continued to smirk at Dustin. "It'll undo itself eventually. Probably," he added with a wink at her.

She kind of laughed at his joke, but she still insisted, "Come on, Adam, let's go."

They started to walk out of the door, but Haley stopped and turned back. "We'll talk about this later, Alyson," she said coolly, then she followed Adam out of the door.

Dustin was fuming. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and he had no idea how to undo it. He turned to Alyson with a pleading look, hoping she knew a countercurse.

Alyson just watched Haley and Adam go, not really responding to her last comment, just sort of nodding. Once they were gone, she turned to Dustin and performed the countercurse on Dustin. She had learned it a year previously due to having the same curse placed on her. Thankfully, it worked.

"I guess asking if you're okay would be stupid, because clearly you're not," she told him. "What exactly was that all about?" She wanted some answers, because there was no way in hell she was going to pick Dustin's side over Haley's without good reason.

Dustin was still fuming and trying to get feeling back in his tongue. " _He_ is why we broke up. We were snogging in the common room like always and suddenly he walks in and breaks us up. Who the hell does that? Anyway, she pretty much agreed with him and we stopped snogging and she started talking to him instead. I was furious that she would take his side in something like that! I asked her if she would rather have him and she didn't answer, so I broke up with her. Now I guess they're together or something," he explained, leaving out the details of how he almost raped her and she was begging Adam to stop him. He wanted to spare her the gory details. "I'm so sorry you had to get in the middle of that." He was surprised to know that he meant it.

Alyson attentively listened to Dustin vent. "It's okay, I'm glad I was here. If I wasn't, your tongue would probably still be stuck to the roof of your mouth." She paused for a second, thinking over what Dustin said. "That's horrible, I'm sorry. That was quite the douche-y move on Adam's end, and I'm surprised Haley did something like that, though I know she's always had a bit of a thing for Adam." She stopped talking and nearly covered her hand with her mouth. She wasn't supposed to tell anyone that, it just sort of slipped. She wasn't even sure if she believed Dustin, at least not yet. She wanted to hear Haley's side of the story, though she couldn't help it—she felt genuinely bad for Dustin.

"Oh, so then this isn't a new thing. Well that explains why he stepped in. I bet she was cheating on me the whole time!" He was even madder hearing that Haley had always liked Adam. He forced himself to calm down after a minute so his anger didn't transfuse onto Alyson. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into a hug to help calm down. Again he was surprised to feel himself enjoying her company.

Alyson was quite surprised when Dustin grabbed and hugged her, not really expecting him to do that, but she didn't mind. She hugged him back, hoping it would help calm him down. She was surprised by how much she wanted him to feel better. "If it's any consolation, she wasn't cheating with him to my knowledge, at least," she said softly.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. It's getting late. Maybe we should go bed," he suggested. "Unless you want to hang out for a little while..."

"What would make you feel better?" Alyson asked. They pulled away from the hug. "I know after my break up I just ended up lying in bed for hours because I couldn't get to sleep."

"I'd like to hang out with you for a while," Dustin said quietly.

That had been the answer she was expecting, but she was still generally surprised by how nice Dustin was being to her as of late. "Okay," she said with a smile. "I don't have much experience with staying out past curfew, so you'll have to take the lead," she joked, but there was some truth to her statement.

He looked at her suspiciously. "Seeing as this is your first time out past curfew we should do something awesome to celebrate. Want to go to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom again and actually do what we were originally going to do? Maybe we can teach each other something," he suggested hopefully.

She smiled at him again. "Okay," she said. "That sounds good." They headed back into the classroom and proceeded to make the dummies look as much like humans as possible. They were only fifth years, so of course the results weren't realistic, which resulted in quite a bit of laughter. They had a good time together that night. Dustin spent most of his time hexing the dummies, but eventually he sat down next to her and they just talked. After a while, Dustin noticed Alyson started to get tired, so he suggested they go to bed.

"Are you sure? I can keep you company longer if you'd like," Alyson said, covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Yeah, I'm getting tired too," he replied. Which wasn't really true, he was still mad, but much to his surprise, hanging out with Alyson had made him feel a lot better.

"We'll have to take some hidden corridors. It's about the time for everyone to be out patrolling, but I'll walk you back," he said sweetly. He was laying on the charm thick, and he knew it.

"Thank you," Alyson said. She felt a few butterflies in her stomach. A guy had never officially walked her back from somewhere before, not even Eric. He walked her back to the Gryffindor Common Room, taking extra care not to get caught by anybody patrolling, because that would certainly kill nice night the two had together, and before they knew it they were standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Thank you for walking me back. Good night!" Alyson whispered happily. She wasn't going to tell the portrait the password until Dustin left.

Dustin gave her a grin that he had never given her before. He usually reserved it for girls he was trying to impress. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then?" He said, trying to sound hopeful. He was having conflicted feelings about hanging out with her. She was a Mudblood, after all.

Dustin's grin put another butterfly or two in Alyson's stomach. She felt a little conflicted because she was still upset over Eric, but she decided to push her feelings aside. "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow," she replied with a small smile of her own.

"I'm looking forward to it. Good night," he told her, still smiling, before he walked off. When he was out of earshot Alyson went into the common room and headed up to bed. Nobody was awake.

* * *

Meanwhile, Adam was still fuming as he and Haley left. "The nerve of him!" he commented, half to himself, half to Haley. "God, I could have killed him," he continued angrily as they walked through the corridors they had taken to get there.

Haley wanted to agree, but her heart wouldn't let her. "I know what you mean, but he is so beyond not worth it," she said instead. "And what was he doing with _her_? Of all people, I never expected him to be hanging out with Alyson. He usually talks about how much he wishes I wouldn't."

"I guess you're right, neither of us should waste our time on him," he replied, though he still felt furious. Dustin did so many low things, yet he still acted all high and mighty. "I would never have expected him to be hanging out with a Mudbl-someone like _her,_ either," he agreed, refraining from calling her a Mudblood because he knew she was Haley's friend for some reason. "How pathetic is that?

Haley blushed because she also hung out with "someone like her." She was used to getting that sort of treatment about her, and she knew what he meant. Alyson wasn't exactly Dustin's favorite kind of person. A Muggle-born Gryffindor who got marks higher than any purebloods he knew personally was the type of person he made it a point to hate. She was also curious as to why they were together, but for different reasons. What if tried the same thing with her? Even worse, what if she _let_ him?

"I'm going to need something a little stronger than that stuff we had earlier to sleep now," Haley said jokingly. Suddenly she felt exhausted and knew she would really pass out as soon as she hit the pillow.

Adam gave her a smile, forcing himself to calm down for Haley's sake, at least temporarily. "Maybe some other time," he said lightly. "Trust me, you'll fall asleep just fine." He could tell she felt tired even just by looking at her, plus he knew the effects of drugs quite well. "So will we be spending other nights together like this?" he asked, referring to the drugs, not the running into Dustin part. He was hopeful of a positive answer. He knew she said she wanted to earlier, but she had been high as a kite then.

Haley hesitated. She liked Adam but she didn't want anything to get in the way of her studies. "As long as I can keep my marks up, then I want to do this as much as I possibly can," she said finally.

"I like the sound of that. I'll make sure you can keep up with school just fine," Adam promised. They reached the Slytherin Common Room, and he let her walk ahead of him, making sure she didn't stumble her way through.

She went in and sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, casting _Incindio_ at the same time so that they actually had a fire. Adam sat down closer to her than he would have a couple of hours ago.

He put his arm on the back of the sofa so it was behind Haley's shoulders but not wrapped around them. "How are you feeling?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was okay after what happened in the classroom, as well as make sure she was coming off of her high just fine.

"I'm feeling wonderful again. Extremely relaxed," she said as she shrugged a little closer to him. "The high is gone, but I still feel pretty happy. Fuck those guys, anyway."

"Glad to hear that," Adam said, mirroring Haley and scooting a little closer to her as well. "Yeah, fuck those guys," he agreed.

Haley laid her head on his shoulder. The fire and the warmth coming from Adam was overpowering and soon she fell asleep. He stayed awake with her for a little while and watched her sleep. She looked extra cute, and she sort of drooled on his shoulder. He smiled fondly. Soon he started to feel sleepy as well so he shook her gently awake. "Go get in your bed," he told her softly.

She reached up, still half asleep, and kissed him full on the lips. She had actually been dreaming about him. She fully woke up in the middle and realized what was going on and pulled away. She was a very deep shade of scarlet. "I, er...I didn't….um...I'm sorry. I'll go now."

"Haley, it's okay-" Adam started, but before he knew it Haley had gotten up and ran off to the girls' dormitory. Huh. He rested his chin in his hand for a moment. He certainly liked Haley, but he wanted her to get over Dustin before he made a move or anything. Still thinking about Haley, he got up and went to bed.

Haley ran upstairs and directly into Mary who had been up late doing homework and waiting for her best friend. Haley was glad to see her up, because she had a lot to talk about. She spent the better part of an hour explaining the events of the evening, including the experience with Adam in the bathroom, but excluding the most recent events. She doubted Mary would approve of her kissing her brother.

Mary and Haley discussed the whole ordeal in detail, particularly the drugs. Mary wasn't too happy about Haley trying them out and made her promise to not get too crazy. Mary was also concerned that Alyson was hanging out with Dustin. She asked a lot of questions about that. Eventually they got tired and went to bed.

* * *

 **Mature content details:** This chapter contains the beginning of a non-consensual act exclusively involving two minors (fifteen year olds), but the non-consensual act is stopped in its tracks early on. There is also drug use between two minors (a fifteen year old and a seventeen year old).


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